Thompson on Hollywood

IFC Goes On Cannes Buying Spree

Festivals

IFC Films is on a buying tear. They happen to be at Cannes, but they obviously had been talking about acquiring U.S. rights to Ari Posin's "The Face of Love" since its well-received debut (under the title "The Look of Love") at SXSW. The romantic mystery stars Annette Bening as a widow who falls hard for an art teacher (Ed Harris) who doesn't know that he happens to be a dead ringer for her late husband.

By Anne Thompson
|
May 16, 2013 1:14 PM
|
1 Comment

More:

Trailer Watch: 'Ruby Sparks' is Hipster Pygmalion with Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan

News

Fox Searchlight reveals the poster, promo photos, and a trailer (posted below) for their latest quirky number - "Ruby Sparks" - with Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, "Ruby Sparks" tells what amounts to a hipster pygmalion: a young novelist (Dano) suffers from writer's block and love life woes, until he starts to write a character so adorable that she manifests.

By Anne Thompson and Maggie Lange
|
May 11, 2012 10:58 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Women in Film LA Announces 2011 Crystal + Lucy Awards Honorees, Including Bening and Holmes

Women in Film's 2011 Crystal + Lucy Awards honorees are listed below. WIF LA honors the industry's most "creative, dynamic and forceful" women, and will throw a gala fundraiser on June 16 in their honor and in support of WIF LA's educational and philanthropic programs. Says new WIF LA president, Cathy Shulman: "Each of these women has made a genuine impact. Collectively, as leaders in every aspect of their lives, professionally and philanthropically, they stand as shining examples to men and women throughout the entertainment industry that achieving everything is possible.”

By Sophia Savage
|
April 5, 2011 9:24 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk: Final Edition, Oscar Wrap

It's a wrap, as In Contention's Kris Tapley and I analyze Sunday night's Oscar show winners and losers (below). Co-host Anne Hathaway came out ahead of James Franco, who seemed to be either too tired or too bored to do more than phone it in between tweets. (Caryn James' review is here.) Maybe he really was more comfortable at the Spirit Awards.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 28, 2011 10:30 AM
|
3 Comments

More:

Live From The Indie Spirit Awards: Black Swan Dominates, Winners Talk (UPDATE)

We are live on the beaches of Santa Monica for the 2011 Indie Spirit Awards. It's a sunny but blistering February afternoon. The clouds will likely roll in as the show starts at 2 pm. Winners will be ushered into the press tent to give their last comments before tomorrow's season-finale Oscar showdown. Check back for live updates. Here is the complete list of nominees.

By Sophia Savage
|
February 26, 2011 9:43 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

Indie Spirits Preview: Back to Beach with Host McHale; Oscar Nominees Favored to Win; Hudson Talks

It's back to the beach in Santa Monica (amid threats of rain) for the 26th edition of the Independent Spirit Awards, which are voted on by some 5000 members of Film Independent, and take place the Saturday before the Oscars. It won't be hard for first-time host Joel McHale (The Soup, Spy Kids 4, see video below) to improve on last year's Eddie Izzard, who phoned in his duties without seeming to have much sense of the smart indies in the room during 2010's one-off move downtown to LA Live. Former R-rated hosts John Waters, Sarah Silverman and Rainn Wilson honed in on the right vibe for this crowd. Here's the list of presenters.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 26, 2011 2:42 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Oscar Predicts Chart 2010

Here's my list of predictions for Oscar wins (in italics) in all categories including shorts. (My nominations predictions are here.) Until February 27th!

By Anne Thompson
|
February 26, 2011 12:51 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Mark Your Ballots: Anne Thompson Predicts Oscar Winners

The Oscar polls closed on Tuesday at 5 PM. No more campaigning, lobbying or pitches for attention will make a difference now. It's all in the hands of the PriceWaterhousecooper counters, and will be revealed Sunday. Meanwhile the rest of us want to win our respective Oscar pools. This year, I must warn you, is tough to call. As Kris Tapley and I discuss in our latest Oscar Talk, there are plenty of sure-calls, but also several impossible-to-predict categories: documentary and foreign film, which are voted on by small groups who must prove that they've seen all the films, and supporting actress. The shorts are always a bit of a crap shoot too. Warning: I'm going out on a limb in a few categories, so when in doubt, choose the perceived frontrunner.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 25, 2011 8:17 AM
|
5 Comments

BAFTAs Go to King's Speech, Social Network, Inception, Black Swan, Alice, Dragon Tattoo UPDATED

The BAFTA Awards are under way at the Royal Opera House in London. Safe to say The King's Speech is winning many awards but is not sweeping; Inception and Alice in Wonderland are grabbing many of the technical categories. I predict that the Oscars will follow this trend.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 13, 2011 7:48 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk: Bening vs. Portman, Leo's Gaffe, Nominees Lunch, BAFTAs, Inception Surge

We're in the thick of the Oscar race now. In this week's Oscar Talk podcast, In Contention's Kris Tapley and Guy Lodge and I discuss the real contest between Annette Bening and Natalie Portman, whether Melissa Leo's glam ads are opening up the field in supporting actress, and how the Nominees Lunch and the upcoming BAFTAs on Sunday give us a sense of where the races are tipping.